Teenage Fever | Jude Bellingham (Completed)

18.

𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐝
Bri-Hell
༇☆☆༻

As we played a game of poker on the flat, Luis, Jarell, Dominik, and I were gathered around the table, cards in hand, each of us lost in our own thoughts.

I glanced at the cards in my hand, trying to focus on the game, but my mind kept wandering. Brielle's face kept intruding into my thoughts. I couldn't shake the memory of our last conversation.

"Luis, it's your move," I prompted, breaking the silence that had settled over the room.

Luis looked up from his cards. "Right," he muttered, studying his hand intently.

Jarell chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "Feeling lucky tonight, Luis?" he teased, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Luis shot him a playful glare. "Always," he replied confidently, flipping a chip onto the table.

Dominik smirked, his gaze darting between us. "We'll see about that," he said, a hint of challenge in his voice.

I tried to concentrate on the game, but my mind kept wandering back to Brielle. For weeks, I had been deliberately limiting our interactions. When she finally expressed a desire to talk, I hesitated, I eventually told her I wasn't emotional available and that I might not be good for her at the moment, since I was still in the process of healing from a recent breakup. It wasn't entirely a lie, but the real reason lay in my reluctance to face the possibility of getting hurt again.

Seeing Bellingham's comments on Brielle's pictures triggered my PTSD, stirring up memories of past heartache. I was cheated on with the same guy I was told not to worry about. The thought of history repeating itself filled me with dread, and I couldn't bear the idea of going through that pain again.

"Fold," I announced, pushing my cards forward with a sigh. I just couldn't concentrate, not with Brielle haunting my thoughts.

Luis raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by my decision. "Giving up already, Trent?" he asked surprisingly.

"You must be sick, because you aren't even losing and we know how competitive you are" Dominik said.

I shrugged, offering him a wry smile. "Just not feeling it tonight," I replied vaguely, hoping they wouldn't press further.

"It's Bri-hell, isn't it?" Luis asked, using the nickname he often used to refer to his girlfriend's roommate, Brielle. Right now, the name was fitting because I was in hell because of my emotions for her.

I remained silent, but Luis continued, his words spilling out. "I told him about my girlfriend's roommate, the most stuck-up person ever, by the way. She was always giving my girl and me dirty looks whenever I was around. Probably jealous. So, I told Trent that he should pursue her. She thinks she's so better than everyone, Trent was supposed to humble her mess with her head, but instead she messed with his, he let this girl play him."

I shot him a look because that's not what happened
"You're taking the piss" I said as Dominik and Jarell now faced me for my version of the story.

"Luis told me his girlfriend's roommate walked in on them for like the hundredth time now. He always talks about this girl, so one day I asked him to show me her. He wanted me to get involved with this girl, and at first, I agreed until I saw who he was talking about. It was that girl from a few of my classes, someone I've always noticed. Luis kept pressuring me to talk to her. He wanted me to mess with her, dog her but I couldn't, or wouldn't nor did I ever agree to doing that."